The Fantasy Hero
by Wernher von Braun
Summary: He always desired to be a hero. People around him always tell him to abandon his dream and seek another one. He ignores them yet no matter how hard he tries to keep his dream, his resolve is slowly wavering. He wonders if there is a truth in their words. Thus, when he finds himself in the Land of Fantasy, will he finally has an answer to his dilemma?
1. Fantasy and Illusions

**Fantasy and Illusions**

The first thing that Izuku noticed was that he was in the middle of the forest.

Well, not exactly. He was actually standing on a dirt road with tree after tree being the only scenery on both side of the road. So, it was too soon to decide that he was indeed in a forest.

In any case, his mind started to race as he begun to think about his situation, hand on his chin. He was pretty sure that he was walking towards home after witnessing several heroes arresting a villain that robbed a bank. As he trying to remember the event just minutes ago, the boy realized something.

There seemed to be a gap within his memory, between him walking home and arriving in this place. He couldn't help but starting to panic, wondering if his situation was caused by a villain. Some of them were known to commit crimes that were more harmless in comparison to others. He remembered hearing the news of a trio of villains that simply stole women's panties. Not an acceptable behavior, of course, but no one was hurt.

Izuku shook his head. This was not the time to think about that. At least, he should have focused more on getting back home. He didn't want to make his mother worried. Looking around for a while, he hesitated at first before deciding a path.

As he walked through the dirt road, Izuku noticed that something wasn't right. It took him a minute or two to realize what it was; it was quiet, too quiet in fact. There was no sound of the wind making tree branches move or birds chirping while flying around. He gulped, sweat started to form on his forehead.

Suddenly, he heard something moving through the bushes. He jumped a bit in surprise, wondering what it was that moved. The boy could see that it was slowly moving towards him. He clenched his hands, making fists, putting them at the height of his chest, his right foot in front of the left; it was one of poses that All Might made in a video of his feat. Despite his fear, Izuku was ready in case he had to defend himself.

When the one that moved through the bushes emerged, he relaxed and breath again, not noticing that he was holding it.

Emergin from the bushes was a young girl, somewhere between 10 – 14 years old; a pre-teen. She was wearing a black vest and skirt, and white blouse with a red tie bordered by two large red beads around her neck. On her short blond hair was what appeared to be a red ribbon. Her red eyes focused on the boy, showing curiosity.

"Hello there, mister." The girl greeted him before tilting her head. "You look lost."

"Um, yeah, I am..." Izuku replied as he scratched his head. "D-Do you know where we are..."

"I am Rumia." She introduced herself before straighten up her head back. "You don't know where we are, mister?"

"N-No. I suddenly find myself..."

"'Suddenly?'" For some reason, Rumia seemed to be _very _interested in that word. "You don't live in a village?"

"I don't. I live at Musutafu." He realized that there was something..._strange _regarding the girl in front of him.

"Is that so?" She slowly smiled. "Hey, mister. Can I ask a question?"

Izuku didn't reply. He had a _really _bad feeling about this. The way she looked at him, the way she smiled, there was _definitely _something wrong about her.

"May I eat you?"

Without waiting an answer, Rumia jumped towards the boy, mouth wide open. He immediately jumped to the side, causing the girl to missed her target and hit the tree. During the brief moment when he could see her mouth, Izuku saw that she had a set of sharper-than-normal teeth.

The green-haired boy watched as the girl fell towards the ground, rubbing her head in pain. Not even a minute passed and she already rose up. When she turned her head towards him, Izuku could see that she was mad, gritting her teeth at him.

"That was hurt, human." Rumia stated as she continued to glare at him.

Wasting no more time, Izuku decided to run away from the crazy girl.

"Is that so?" The girl commented as she started to float. "Well, nothing better to work up an appetite than hunting your own meal!"

While he knew that the time was not right and he should be focusing on escaping with his whole body intact, Izuku couldn't help but started to think about Rumia's quirk upon seeing her flew towards him.

"_She could fly. Why does she stretch her arms, making a T-pose? Is it some sort of requirement or simply a style? Anyway, the way she flies, simply floating from the ground and then moving towards me. Is she using the air? No, there's no strong enough wind to indicate that. Gravity manipulation? That's a possible – wait, why is she surrounded by a sphere of darkness?!_"

As if it wasn't confusing enough, the girl started to shoot a stream of energy balls. Fortunately, Izuku managed to avoid them. Unfortunately, Rumia didn't give up and shoot up some more.

"_OK, OK, she could fly, cover herself with darkness, and shoot energy bullets! What kind of quirk that could do that? Think, think!_"

"Mister, I am hungry! Just give up and let me eat you!" Rumia shouted towards him.

"No way! No way!" Izuku shouted back. "A girl like you shouldn't be a villain, especially at your age! I mean, it's not like becoming a villain at an older is any better, what I mean..."

"You talk too much!" She shot several bullets.

Alas, his luck has finally ran out. One of them hit him in the leg, causing the boy to stumble and fell to the ground. Despite the pain, he immediately crawled away from the girl that he knew was slowly approaching him.

"Finally..." Rumia said the word just like how one would react to a sizzling steak coated in barbeque sauce after not eating for a whole day.

"_No, no way! Is...is this how I am going to die? Being eaten by a cannibalistic girl?_" Izuku thought as he kept crawling away.

"Itadaki..."

"Love Sign, Master Spark!"

Suddenly, a ray of energy appeared from the sky and hit Rumia, sending the girl to the ground. It didn't stop there; the ray pushed her through the dirt road, creating a shallow trench. When the ray finally disappeared, the blonde girl ended up miles away from Izuku, who had turned around and watched in surprise.

"What...?"

"Hey, there. That's a close one, ain't it, ze?"

When he turned to look at the one who spoke to him, the boy saw someone wearing what could only be described as a witch outfit, especially the hat and broom; the latter which was used by her to fly. Her right hand was holding some kind of device, likely something that shoot out the ray of energy earlier. She was smiling at him; a mischievous one but nonetheless friendly.

"Um, yeah..." He scratched his head. "Ah, thanks for the help..."

"It's Marisa. Marisa Kirisame." The witch replied as she put the device into her pocket. "Considering she attacked you, you're not from around here, right?"

"I don't think so. What does that have...?"

"Ever heard of Gensokyo, ze?"

"N-No, I..."

"Yep, you're an outsider." Marisa turned around, her back facing him, and created a space on her broom before looking at him. "Come on, hop in. She's quite weak but can be quite persistent."

Despite being quite far, Izuku could her Rumia moaning in pain. Wasting not even a second, he immediately accepted Marisa's offer.

"Alright, hang on tight! This is going to be a wild ride, ze!"

As they gained altitude, the boy realized something as he hugged the witch from behind.

"_Oh my gods, I am hugging a gggiiiiiirrrrrllllll!_"

Marisa was right; it was a wild ride.

* * *

When they finally stopped flying and landed, Izuku finally knew why some people in the TV or manga kissed the ground after a not-exactly-smooth plane ride or flying in general. He didn't do it, of course, but he could understand it.

The boy looked around at the place where he and Marisa landed. It was a Shinto shrine, like the ones that he and his mother visited sometimes during New Year. The stairs, the _torii_, the building itself. Holding the broom in her right hand, the blonde walked towards the building, with the green-haired boy following behind.

"Reimu? Oy, Reimu! You're here?" Marisa asked aloud with her free hand on her mouth.

As she kept calling for "Reimu," probably someone that she knew that worked in the shrine, Izuku approached the building, a _haiden_, if he got the terminology correct. Upon seeing the donation box, he picked up his wallet and took two 500 yen coins. He tossed the coins to the box, creating a sound as they hit the inside of the box.

"Donation!"

The volume of the voice surprised both of them. It was followed by the sound of someone running. When Izuku turned his head to look, he saw a girl who was likely the shrine maiden. He was unsure due to her...unorthodox outfit.

Usually, a shrine maiden outfit was white for the upper part and lower part being a red hakama. The outfit that she wore, on the other hand, was almost entirely red with few parts – like the hem of her skirt – being white. On her head was a red ribbon with matching tubes on her sidelocks. The most eye-catching were the detached sleeves which expose her armpits.

"Marisa, who is the boy?" The brunette asked as she approached the witch.

"Him? He's..." It was at that moment that Marisa remembered that she didn't ask his name. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Eh?" The boy blinked at the sudden question. "I-It's Izuku. Izuku Midoriya."

"Yep. Izuku, he's an outsider, ze." The blonde turned her attention back to the shrine maiden. "Found him almost getting eaten by Rumia."

He was a bit surprised when Marisa referred to him by his given name. Then again, she did give out a vibe of someone not caring about politeness. The shrine maiden nodded her head before looking at him.

"First off, Izuku, you have my thanks for your generous donation." She told him with a smile. "I am Reimu Hakurei, the shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine. Would you like a tea?"

"T-Thanks for the offer." He replied, once again surprised by how his given name was used.

"Jeez, give you a donation and you will act nice, ze." The witch stated. "You really are one greedy woman, aren't you?"

"Shut it, Marisa! Maybe if you act nicer, I will reply in kind as well."

"As if..."

As the two girls – likely friends from how they interact – walked towards the side of the building, Izuku couldn't help but wondered about his situation. Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame were clearly Japanese yet despite that, they didn't address him – a stranger – with his family name, something that was almost automatic for a Japanese to do due to being taught from childhood. Whether one was from the countryside or the metropolis, the lesson was the same.

"_So, why did they act like that?_"

* * *

Currently, the three of them were sitting on the platform of Reimu's house. He was kind of surprised that the shrine was also her home as well. After drinking a bit of her tea, the shrine maiden picked a rice cracker and took a big bite.

"So, Izuku..." Reimu spoke to him after swallowing the cracker. "...could you explain how you ended up here?"

"Um, well, I am not exactly sure myself." He replied while staring at his cup of green tea. "I was walking back home and then I was at the forest. Between the two events, there seems to be a gap of memory."

"A gap?" Marisa muttered before she and Reimu looked at each other. They then shook their heads. "Well, in any case, you managed to find yourself in Gensokyo, which I suppose for you an outsider a bad news, ze."

"Gensokyo? That's right, you mentioned it to me back then."

"Well, introduction is in order, I suppose." The shrine maiden declared. "Izuku, this place is known as Gensokyo, the Land of Fantasy."

As if on cue, there were voices of several people laughing. The trio looked upward and saw several girls with wings flew around while playing with each other.

"In case you're wondering, those are fairies, common sight here in Gensokyo, ze." Marisa said as she pointed at them.

"Eh, fairies? You mean like, in the fairy tales?" The boy asked with her nodding in response. "But, aren't they just, you know, have a quirk that's having a fairy-like wings?"

"You too?" Reimu commented before shaking her head. "Anyway, no, those are real fairies. And Rumia, the girl that tried to eat you, is not a human; she's a youkai."

"Y-Youkai?! B-But, youkai..."

"Is just a legend, myth without any backing? I understand your thought." She stared hard at him. "Answer me this, though; do you feel something _not right _with her?"

Izuku closed his mouth and started to remember about his encounter. He didn't remember anything strange about Rumia, apart from the part that she was a cannibal. However, when he recollected at the part where he was chased, he remembered how terrified he was. He remembered times when he felt fear because a villain would turn their attention towards him and other civilians rather than the heroes.

They were nothing compared to that.

"You may not realize it but when you look at Rumia, your mind know that she is a _predator_ and that you are a _prey_." Reimu stated. "Your primal fear, your survival instinct, kicked in. The moment she chased you is the moment you know your place in the food chain."

Izuku gulped after she finished her sentence. Cold sweat formed on his forehead. Despite looking somewhat calm, the fact that the green tea inside the cup that he held was rippling showed that he was trembling due to the statement.

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh, Reimu?" Marisa commented as she ate a cracker. "The Outside World is different compared to our home. He's a fish out of water."

"The faster he knows the danger he's in, the better." The shrine maiden retorted. "Last thing we need is him ended up being seasoned with soy sauce."

"So, youkai, fairy, things from the myth..." Izuku spoke up. "They are real?"

"Indeed. You and other outsiders believe that they are not real and the creation of Gensokyo is related."

The brunette put down her cup and adopted a more serious expression.

"A long time ago, the world was not as safe as it is today. There were many threats that surrounded mankind. Being full of curiosity, our ancestors wondered about things beyond their grasp. Why did this person disappear during the night? What creature that kill and eat that person? And thus, youkai – manifestation of fear of unknown – was born."

"It's not only youkai, you know." Marisa joined in. "The same reason for the birth of youkai is also the reason for the existence of the gods. Only, replace fear with faith. Get it, ze?"

"Quiet! I am talking to him!" Reimu chided her friend. "Where was I? Ah, yes. It was the fear of unknow that give birth to the youkai. However, as humans become more fearless and start to create scientific reasons to explain phenomena, youkai found themselves unable to survive in the new world."

She stopped talking for a while and drank her tea to wet her throat. Izuku, unable to contain his curiosity, had started to deduce the rest.

"If youkai was born from fear and unknown, then that means the loss of fear and unknown will resulted in their demise. There are many stories of real historical figures existed along with creatures of legend, like how Minamoto no Yoshitune is a student of a tengu. The closer the historical event to the present, the less likely for a youkai to make an appearance. If youkai indeed exist, and need fear to survive, then that means..."

His rant was interrupted by Reimu, who cleared her throat. Izuku turned his attention to her, who was staring at him with a bemused expression and also looked irritated. Under her gaze, he couldn't help but squirm, resulting in Marisa laughing at his misfortune.

"Well, since it seems that you already figure it out yourself..." The shrine maiden folded her arms and closing her eyes.

"Ah, I am sorry! I-I don't mean any disrespect! I-It's just that, w-when I start d-deducing, I find it hard to...!"

"Fine, fine." She opened her eyes while waving her hand. "It was thanks to the changes that occurred that several banded together to create the Great Hakurei Barrier, which separated Gensokyo from the rest of the world, which we called the Outside World. Thus, our home was created; a sanctuary for those that no longer have a place in the outside."

It was quite unfortunate that Izuku had run out of pages in his journal since, while it had nothing to do with the heroes or anything related to them, it was nonetheless an interesting story. Maybe after he returned, he could get not only another journal to record the heroes and their activities but also a journal to record about Gensokyo.

"That's right!" Izuku suddenly exclaimed, surprising the other two. "Miss Hakurei, do you know how I could return home?"

"First, just call me Reimu. Second, of course." She nodded her head. "You're not the first and won't be the last outsider to arrive in Gensokyo."

"That's why I bring you here, ze." Marisa told him. "So, anything I could help you with, Reimu?"

"Just help me carry the stuff." Reimu put down her cup and stood up. "Izuku, just stay here and wait for us to finish the preparation."

As he watched both of them went off towards the warehouse, Izuku simply stayed still, simply enjoying the cup of green tea in his hands.

* * *

"Kid? Oy, kid. Wake up!"

Suddenly, Izuku straighten up and looked around. Looking around for a while, he found out that he was in a bus and the one who called him was none other than the bus driver.

"We're here, kid." The driver told him.

Confused, the boy looked outside to see a bus station. He looked at it for a while before finally remembering that this station was near his home; his destination.

"Ah, thank you so much, sir." Izuku said as he stood up, bowed, and walked towards the door.

"Not a problem kid." The driver replied with a smile. "Just remember to not fall too deep into sleep."

As he watched the bus drove away, the boy couldn't help but frown. He remembered sitting at the Hakurei Shrine while Reimu and Marisa went to pick up something that could get him back home. He also realized that between that and him being awoken, there was a gap in his memory. One moment he was drinking a tea and the next he awoke inside the bus.

Now that he mentioned it, he didn't remember taking a bus. Though it could simply part of the memory that he lost since he remembered that during the walk, he saw a bus station several meters away in front of him.

He wondered if he should contact the police about it. It was not something that he could just ignore. On the other hand, there was a part of him that doubt the wisdom of doing it. Maybe due to how nobody in the bus noticed anything strange happened to him, either not noticing him disappearing and then reappearing or simply appearing inside. Maybe it had something to do with Gensokyo and the fact that youkai actually exist.

There were simply too many puzzle pieces still missing for him to come to a conclusion.

Despite his frustration, Izuku decided to simply head home. In any case, he shouldn't make his mother worried.

* * *

When sunlight hit his face, Izuku grumbled a bit as he raised his hand to protect his face. He was pretty sure that he closed the window with curtains before going to sleep. So then why the sun managed to...?

"Izuku?! What are you doing here?"

Hearing that voice, the boy suddenly opened his eyes. Standing in front of him with a shocked face was none other than the shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu. He looked around and found out that he was not in his room but instead on the shrine. He could only look at her in confusion and muttered a word.

"Eh?"

* * *

**And thus, the prologue is complete. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


	2. To Play Card Game

**To Play Card Game**

Once again, Izuku found himself sitting at the Hakurei Shrine with a cup of green tea and a bowl of snack.

"So, would you start explaining how you get yourself into Gensokyo again?" Reimu asked as she finished pouring the tea.

"I am not sure myself. I was sleeping in my room and then when I woke up..." Izuku answered as he accepted the cup of tea. "...you know the rest."

"Well, that explain your clothes."

After saying that, the shrine maiden took a closer look at the boy, moving her face closer to his. This caused him to be surprised, almost spilling his tea and creating a bit of distance between him and Reimu. She kept looking at him, mumbling a bit and in general causing him to feel uncomfortable. After a while, she sat properly and closed her eyes, sipping the tea that she had just poured.

"Well, you're not like Sumireko, so the reason you're being here is something else." She stated.

"Eh?" The green-haired boy blinked, confused by her words.

"You're not the only outsider that after going back home is transported into Gensokyo again."

"I see." Izuku took a sip of his own tea before remembered something. "Speaking of which, do you know how I managed to get back to the...Outside World?"

"Nope. You disappeared when Marisa and I returned. I only know you're fine thanks to an...acquaintance of mine."

He raised his eyebrow upon noticing how Reimu's tone seemed to become sourer when mentioning her "acquaintance." He decided not to dig it further, respecting her privacy.

"Anyway, your situation is quite unfortunate. You arrived for the first time in the forest and almost got eaten. Fortunately, this time it's here. We can't guarantee where you would arrive next, however." The brunette told him.

Izuku remained silent after being told about it. He cursed his lack of quirk, which was not the first time and likely would not be the last. And to be honest, that was not the only thing. He also lacked any skill to defend himself without the usage of quirk, like martial art. He was, pretty much, a completely normal boy that wasn't even close of being a hero material.

"There are several solutions to the problem. First, dealing with whatever caused you to be transported to Gensokyo. A permanent one but I don't think time would be on our side. Who knows how long it would take to figure it out?" Reimu picked up a rice cracker. "The second is to train you in magic so that you can use the spell card system to protect you."

"Spell card system?" Izuku said, voice full of curiosity.

"To put it simple, it's a system I set up so that people could fight without risking death. Quite important since fighting is as common as breathing in here, either because of requirement to live or simply because they're battle-junkie." She explained proudly. "With the system, you will be granted the protection that the humans of Gensokyo received unless you do something stupid."

"I see. That means I have a way to protect myself in case I find myself somewhere dangerous!" He said it with a happy tone before becoming lower. "Like, the forest for example."

"Trust, the forest is one of the _least _dangerous places in Gensokyo." Reimu informed him as she finished her cracker. "As Sumireko put it: 'Gensokyo is a natural reserve; beautiful but deadly.'"

"So, how do I do it? Using spell card system, I mean?"

"You need to be able to use magic first. Actually, magic is not necessary; as long as you have a power that can be an equalizer, you're set." Reimu took a sip before continuing. "For example, there's a maid that can stop time."

"What?!" Izuku was, obviously, surprised. "How does that work? I mean, if you stop time, then that means things will freeze on spot. It has been stated that everything in the universe is in motion which means she must freeze the entire universe. But the amount of energy needed would be _insane_. It could simply that she freezes things only inside a certain radius but that still..."

"Izuku!"

He immediately stopped talking upon being scolded by the shrine maiden, who was looking at him with irritated face. The boy scratched his head, not forgetting to say sorry to her.

"Well, I am...quirkless, so I don't have any special ability." The boy stated as his mood went down before rising again. "However, that means I simply need to learn magic, right?"

"Yep. However, I can't exactly teach you. I simply...just be able to do what I can do. Not exactly teacher material."

"So..."

"I think I'll ask Keine about that." Reimu drank her tea until there was nothing left. "Finish your tea. We're going to the Human Village."

"Eh?"

* * *

When the two of them arrived at the village, Izuku felt as if he was going back in time.

He had once attended a festival along with his parents where a historical reenactment occurred. He also watched news about theme park with the setting being the Edo Period and some TV shows set in the era as well.

The Human Village was basically an ordinary village that was built during the Edo Period or the Meiji Era. Everything was period-appropriate; the clothes worn by the villagers, the architecture of the buildings, the lack of anything resembling modern technology...

"Is that takoyaki stand?" Izuku commented as he pointed at the stand, which was surrounded by children.

"That's right. Gensokyo was sealed during the Meiji Era but sometimes we received information from the Outside World. Then there are the Kappa that like to invent various gadgets." Reimu told him.

"Kappa? They are...youkai who lived in the water, right?"

She nodded in response. The two of them keep walking through the village, with the boy admiring the scenery that he saw. He also noticed that many were staring at him, likely because he was still in his pajamas. Reimu, unfortunately, didn't have any clothes except her own and he was not desperate enough to wear a girl's outfit.

At least she had a pair of sandals that fit his size.

"My, my, what do we have here?"

Hearing that, both of them turned their attention to an approaching woman. Her blonde hair was very light, almost to the point of looking like platinum, which was styled to make it as if she had long ears. She wore a purple dress under a white vest with elaborate trimming. In her hands was a _shaku_, a wooden baton often carried by religious people like the Shinto priests or rulers like the Emperor himself. Strapped to her waist was a sword that was likely Chinese in origin.

What stood out the most, however, was the purple headphones that was on her head, contrasting with the rest of her traditional outfit.

"What do you want, Miko?" Reimu asked her as she put her hands on her hips. "Where are your lackeys, by the way?"

"My _subordinates _are not _lackeys_." The woman, Miko, replied with a smile. "As for your first question, I was just relaxing around the village when I see you walking with this boy."

She turned her attention towards Izuku, who couldn't help but feel nervous under her gaze. While she was smiling and looked friendly in general, there was something about her that made him felt that there was more than that.

"May I know your name, young man?" She suddenly asked.

"A-Ah, it's...I am...Izuku. Izuku Midoriya." He answered, stuttering.

"I see. My name is Toyosatomimi no Miko."

"No?"

Izuku raised an eyebrow upon hearing it. The word caused him to remember a history lesson back in school, where one of his classmates asked the teacher why some historical figures have "no" in the middle of their name, like Minamoto no Yoshitune and Fujiwara no Fuhito. The teacher told them that it was a sign that the bearer of the name was part of the nobility.

"Let me guess, you're an outsider and thus surprised by the 'no' in my name. Am I right?" Miko stated suddenly.

"Eh? Y-Yeah. Not exactly something I expect to hear." Izuku replied.

"Well then, you should be ready since I am not the only one with the name." She pointed her _shaku_ at him. Specifically, his clothes. "Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that's not appropriate for any outdoor activity."

"W-Well, it's n-not up to me. I got transported to Gensokyo when I was sleeping." He scratched his head while looking embarrassed.

"I see. In that case..." Her hand went into her pocket before giving him something. "Go buy yourself some clothes. Who knows, if you're lucky, you will find clothes from the Outside World."

When Izuku looked at the item that he received, he immediately knew what it was, from its oval shape and being made from gold; it was a _koban_, a gold coin used in Japan before the establishment of the yen-based system.

"A _koban _for simply buying clothes?!" Reimu exclaimed, sounding quite outraged. "He could buy the best clothing in the village and there would be a lot of change!"

"Well, it's not like I have anything smaller." Miko replied as she laughed with an awkward tone. "Anyway, I have to go. And Izuku, in case you're interested in having a power, try to visit the Mausoleum."

With that, she walked away from them, intending on continuing her relaxation.

"What does she mean by that?" The boy asked as they watched her.

"She's the main representative of the Taoists in Gensokyo. I will not suggest you take her advice." Reimu stated. "Also, her ability is to discern your desire from your words. It's hard to hide it from her."

Reimu stopped talking and remained silent, not moving from where she stood, as if she was expecting something to happen. When it didn't, she raised an eyebrow and looked at Izuku.

"Huh, usually at this point you will talk about her ability until someone reminds you about your surroundings." She commented.

"A-Ah, w-well..." He scratched his head in embarrassment. Again. "I want to but I don't know much about Taoism. So..."

"Well, no matter." She started to walk. "Come on, let's get yourself clothes."

"R-Right."

* * *

After saying thanks to the owner and exiting the store, Izuku took one last look at his new outfit to make sure that he was proper.

He was wearing a green yukata under a dark green coat. There was nothing special about it; just a plain traditional Japanese clothing. While there were some Western-based clothes back in the store, he decided to choose something older. Kind of fitting the environment, if one asked his opinion, what with youkai and gods of the old running around.

"Well, seems that everything's set." Reimu commented as she looked at this new outfit as well. "Let's go. Keine should be there at this hour."

The two of them walked for several minutes before arriving at a building. Coincidentally, a woman had just step out of it. She had a long silver hair with bluish hue and brown eyes. The outfit that she wore was a dark blue dress with a red ribbon decorating the collar. Her hat was...unique, looking like a pagoda or a fancy bento box.

She only took several steps away from the building when she noticed the arrival of Reimu and Izuku. The woman raised an eyebrow before turning her attention towards them.

"Reimu." She greeted the shrine maiden. "For what business you visit the village?"

"Something that you're good at." The brunette replied before looking at Izuku. "Izuku, meet Keine Kamishirasawa, school teacher and guardian of the Human Village."

"I-It's nice to meet you, Miss Kamishirasawa." Izuku introduced himself while also giving a bow.

"Please, Izuku, just call me Keine." The woman, Keine, bowed back before looking at Reimu. "I take it that this boy is an outsider."

"Yep. And this is not the first time he got himself in Gensokyo." Reimu explained the situation. "I still haven't figured out the reason for it and afraid that he would find himself in a dangerous place. In fact, he almost got eaten by Rumia during his first arrival."

"I see. It makes it crucial for him to learn about spell card." The teacher put her hand on her chin and nodded. "I just so happen to have some free time. So, I can lend a hand."

"Thank you for that." Reimu smiled a little. "Come on. Let's waste as little time as possible. Don't want him to go back home before his first lesson."

As the three of them walked to their new destination, Izuku couldn't help but feel excited. Magic. It was not a quirk but if he could master it, then he would have the power needed to become a hero. It wouldn't stop Bakugou from messing with his life – in fact, he foresaw a problem from him if Izuku succeed – but it would stop people from questioning his decision.

It was a good start.

* * *

"Ah, there you are!"

When the trio arrived back at the Hakurei Shrine, they saw Marisa standing in front of the building. Considering the tone of her voice and how grumpy she looked, it appeared that she had been waiting at the shrine for quite a time.

"I have business at the village." Reimu immediately declared while glaring hard at her friend. "What do you want, Marisa?"

"Really? Considering how you..." Whatever she wanted to say was discarded when she noticed who her friend was walking with. "Izuku? What are you doing here, ze?"

"I somehow got myself here. Again." The boy replied, sounding rather tired. "Because of that, Reimu decides I must learn magic so that I can use the spell card system."

"Good idea, ze!" The witch smiled before frowning and looked at the shrine maiden. "Why don't you ask for my help? I can teach him a trick or two, ze!"

"I want him to be able to use magic, not blowing himself up sky high." The brunette snarked.

"Hey, I don't...!"

As the two of them argue and argue further, Izuku was about to step in, wanting to calm them down, when a hand obstructed his way. It was Keine, who shook her head as the boy looked at her.

"This is normal for them, Izuku." The woman replied. "In fact, why don't we use this chance to introduce you to danmaku?"

"What do you mean?" He asked her, tilting his head.

"You'll see." The school teacher grabbed his hand. "Let's go somewhere safer."

When both of them took a shelter under the trees, Reimu and Marisa's fight finally reached the breaking point; both of them jump away from each other before ascending to the sky. The former held her _gohei _in her right hand while the left hand was holding several _ofuda_. The latter had both of her hands on her broom but was no less prepared.

It was a sight that Izuku would never forget.

He now understood what Keine meant by danmaku, bullet curtain. The two friends were firing bullets after bullets at each other. Reimu was using _ofuda _and balls of light as her bullets while Marisa created stars of various color and size along with lasers. But what stood out the most, however, was that the bullets were creating patterns. Only few of them were directly heading towards their target.

"That, Izuku, is danmaku." Keine stated, arms folded while smiling. "And that's not the best part."

"Eh?" Izuku was confused at first but it was soon answered.

"Love Sign, Master Spark!"

"Spirit Sign, Fantasy Seal!"

The only thing that he could see was Reimu creating a barrier with _ofuda _and light balls and Marisa firing one massive laser before he was blinded by the immense light created by two spell cards hitting each other.

* * *

"That. Was. Awesome! The way you fly around and bombard your opponent with bullet after bullet while your opponent does the same thing! How you manage to avoid being hit by using even the smallest gap is just...!"

After the battle, Reimu decided to serve tea (with Marisa being forced to help her or she wouldn't get one) for all of them. As she did so, Izuku couldn't help him-self and kept talking about the fight between the shrine maiden and the witch. Even as the three women enjoyed the tea, he was still talking about it.

Finally, he stopped. But not because he ran out of something to talk about. Rather, it was because he ran out of breath.

"You're done?" Reimu asked him, sounding not exactly impressed.

"Y-Yeah, I am..."

"Good. Because it's annoying." She then proceeded to take a sip of her tea.

"S-Sorry..."

"Meh, it's Reimu. She's easily offended, ze." Marisa stated. "So, worry not, Izuku."

The boy merely nodded. Still out of breath, he picked up his cup and drank the content. After feeling refreshed, he decided to ask further regarding the spell card system.

"So, the spell card system, I must be able to do that?"

"That is correct." Keine told him. "The battle between spell card users is known as danmaku, named after the sheer amount of bullet even just one user could create. Then there's the spell card itself; to put it simple, I guess you can say they're the ultimate expression of the one who owned the card."

"The first one is not true, though. Fairies, for example, usually only fire several bullets before being knocked out." Reimu added. "On the other hand, they tend to stay in large group so it's moot point."

"That's also not getting into higher-ranking fairies, ze." Marisa joined in as well.

"Anyway, first thing first, you need to be able to form a bullet." The teacher demonstrated it by creating a cyan ball of energy. "Touch it, Izuku."

Hesitantly, he moved his right hand to do as Keine asked her. Considering how Reimu and Marisa only looked a bit bruised, he knew that it wasn't exactly dangerous. That didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt though.

When his hand touched the ball, it felt as if his hand was slapped hard. There was also the feeling of being shocked by electricity. It didn't hurt much since it only felt like a slightly stronger static electricity.

"You know, speaking about danmaku, why did the two of you created patterns?" The boy asked. "Won't it be simpler to just target your opponent directly than taking a chance of them getting hit?"

"The spell card system is created so that the weakest has a chance against the strongest. Thus, it's crucial that everyone has a chance of winning." The shrine maiden explained. "Patterns are used to give that chance. In fact, it's possible to win without firing a single bullet but this is incredible difficult and requires dodging for a long period of time."

He nodded his head repeatedly, absorbing any information that was given to him.

"Well, that's good and all but in the end, all of them is merely words and theory." Marisa barged in. "They always say that action speaks louder than any word and that is what you're going to do, Izuku!"

"Wait, now?" He exclaimed, sound panicked. "But I know nothing about magic!"

"Don't worry, ze. When it's about creating danmaku bullet, even children could do it." The witch stated. "Heh. I have even seen outsiders who decide to stay here being able to learn about it no problem."

"Indeed. For now, it's better that you learn about the basics." The teacher told him.

"A-Alright." Izuku's face was now full of determination. "So, what do I need to do?"

"It's actually quite simple. You just need to feel the magical energy and use it to form a bullet." Keine explained to him. "The very first thing, however, is to believe the existence of magic."

"Eh? What...do you mean by that?"

"Belief is a crucial thing. Youkai, gods, many things in Gensokyo exist because of the belief of its inhabitants. You must believe that magic exists, you must believe that you can use it, and you must believe that you can shape it to suit your needs."

After hearing that, Izuku raised his hand, palm opened. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. Few minutes passed and so far, he was still unable to feel the energy that Keine talked about.

"To make it simpler, try to remember about the fairies that you saw. Think about the fantastic nature of Gensokyo. Imagine yourself in Reimu's place or mine when we fought earlier." Marisa gave him an advice.

"Huh, you're not that bad as a teacher." Reimu stated, though her tone was not lacking in sarcasm.

"I told you, ze!"

He followed the advice.

He remembered about the fairies. How they fly around as if it was the most natural thing in the world. How they care little about what happened around them. How they play with each other like children despite of their ages.

He thought about Gensokyo. A place separated from the rest of the world by a barrier. A place where creatures of legends and myths create their new home as the world reject their existence. A place untouched by the existence of quirk yet still possessed its own wonder.

He imagined himself in Reimu's place. Floating in the sky, with the blessing of the gods, _gohei _in one hand and _ofuda _in the other. Sending charms after charms towards his opponent. He imagined himself in Marisa's place. Flying with a broom like witches in tales, mastering the power that many desired but only few succeed. Stars and lasers were how he expressed himself, how he showed the sheer power that he possessed.

"You've done it."

When Izuku opened his eyes, he was awestruck by what he saw. On his hand was an energy ball. Its bright green color shine into his eyes. Keine had a satisfied look on her face, Marisa was grinning, and Reimu looked like she couldn't care less about what was happening.

"I did it! I did it! I have power! I have magic!" Izuku shouted excitedly. So excited he was that there were tears in his eyes. "Wooohoooo!"

In his excitement, he raised his hands. At that moment, several bullets were fired from his hands, hitting the ceiling of the building. Reimu's emotion immediately changed.

"Hey, watch where you shooting!" She scolded the boy while throwing one of her _ofuda _towards him.

"Ack!" It hit him in the face, making him fell to the floor. "S-Sorry..."

"You better be careful, ze. Reimu is very sensitive when it comes to her shrine." Marisa was still grinning when she said that. "Anyway, congratulations. You're now on par with the fairies...which doesn't mean much."

"I don't expect to become an expert in it, obviously." Izuku said as he sat up. "Just wondering but how strong a fairy is?"

As if on cue, a fairy suddenly flew towards the group, happily laughing without any care of her surroundings. To answer his question, the witch created a star bullet and shot it at the fairy, intentionally missing the target. The fairy, surprised by the attack, retaliated by shooting at the culprit. She was only able to fire a single bullet, which Marisa dodged, before getting hit by another bullet, exploding into a cloud of glowing vapor.

"Is...she alright?" Izuku asked, worried about the fairy.

"Don't worry. Fairies are immortal. Death is not something they're worried about." The witch explained. "Anyway, you're not _that _weak. But you're still pretty weak for Gensokyo standard."

He did feel somewhat down by the revelation. Nevertheless, it was an improvement compared to how he was before his arrival in Gensokyo. If he could improve himself further, his dream of becoming a hero, of following the footstep of All Might, would not be merely a dream.

"What should I do next?" He asked them.

"For now, you should just focus on being able to shoot bullets in immense number." Keine told him. "Well, I believe that should be enough for today. I must prepare lessons for the children tomorrow."

"Ah, right. You're a teacher, Miss Keine." Izuku stated. "Thank you so much for your help!"

"Think nothing about it."

With that, Keine said her farewell and walked away from the shrine, heading back towards the Human Village.

"Well, Izuku. Keine's right on what you should focus on." Reimu told him. "Before that, however, let me tell you a bit about spell card."

"Is it the reason why the spell card system is called that?" He asked.

"Indeed. Spell card can be described as the ultimate spell. More often than not, it represents the nature of the owner." The shrine maiden explained. "For example, one of my cards, Fantasy Seal, represents my position as the Shrine Maiden of the Hakurei Shrine."

"As for me, ze..." Marisa joined in. "Master Spark represents my love for things that can make big 'BOOM' and my sheer power as the number two in Gensokyo!"

"As such, creating a spell card is both easy and hard." The brunette stated. "Sure, it's about yourself, so the answer should be easy. But how do you define 'you'? What makes you '_you'_? What makes you different from others?"

"There's also how skittish you are. You might know who you are but doesn't have enough confident to admit it."

Izuku knew what Marisa meant. Many of his classmates made fun of him not just because of his lack of quirk and dream of being a hero but also his behavior. Admittedly, it was often because Bakugou intimidated him. Nonetheless, "confident" was not a word that can be used to describe him.

Suddenly, there was smoke coming from underneath the _tatami_. While Izuku looked at it worriedly, Marisa simply sighed while Reimu looked as if she was holding back pure rage.

"That stupid fairy!" The shrine maiden exclaimed as she stood up. "This is not even winter! What the hell is she thinking?!"

"Well, here we go again." The witch commented as she watched her friend walked out of the room furiously. "That hell fairy sure knows how to make people suffer."

Hearing about the hell fairy, Izuku wanted to ask more about her.

But he couldn't.

* * *

When his alarm clock rang, even with his eyes still closed, Izuku was still able to hit the button and silenced it. Slowly, he stood up from his bed, rubbing his eyes to get rid of any drowsiness. He then walked towards the window and opened the curtain. The sun had not yet fully emerged from the horizon, indicating that...

"_Wait. I am pretty sure that back at the shrine, the sun was already..._"

Curious, Izuku looked at the clock, to check if he was misreading the time. His attention, however, was soon diverted to the small pouch besides the clock. He picked it up and looked the content of the pouch, seeing the money inside. He didn't need to count it; he knew that the amount would be exactly as the amount of change that he received after buying the yukata at the Human Village.

Speaking about the yukata, he wondered where it was now. He didn't remember changing back into his pajamas. Which didn't actually surprise him since it was simply another loss of memory that happened because of him moving between the Outside World and Gensokyo.

"Just what exactly is happening to me?" He asked himself.

* * *

After having a breakfast, Izuku went to his computer and begun a search. Normally, he would be using it to search about hero-related stuffs; news articles, videos, encyclopedia, All Might merchandise if he had the money, and many more.

He was not searching them though. He was searching about Japanese mythology and folklore. Very important since his life would depend on it.

He focused his search on various types of youkai. From the common ones like tanuki and kitsune to the more obscure one like yamabiko and tsurube-otoshi. He read about the massive strength of the oni and their love of alcohol, along with their weakness of fried soy beans and holly branch with sardine head. There was an article about the kappa and how they could be pacified with either cucumber or bowing.

Two hours of searching, Izuku remembered that the fantasy of Gensokyo was not limited to Japan. There was Toyosatomimi no Miko who was a Taoist and the fairies that were likely European in origin.

"There's a lot to look..." He commented as he looked at his journal.

He never tried it before but it was unlikely that he would be able to use the Internet if he was in Gensokyo, considering that it was separated from the rest of the world. Thus, it was likely separated from the Internet connection as well. Due to that, he decided to record his findings into his new journal; one dedicated to the Land of Fantasy.

The boy simply sighed and continued his current project.

* * *

When he opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer in front of his computer, he no longer panicked. It did feel uncomfortable that he was getting used to his strange circumstance. He noticed that the journal that he was working on was in his hand. That proved his theory; he could take items into and from Gensokyo.

He looked at the sky and saw that it was orange, with the sun slowly sinking into the horizon. Izuku was worried. Youkai were stronger during night and encountering one was his last wish. The boy immediately began to run, searching for a place where he could take shelter.

He was lucky; only few minutes of running and he already saw a house. It was more modern compared to the houses in the Human Village and was Western in the design. As he stood in front of the door, he was about to knock when doubt set into his heart. What if the one that reside in this house was, well, not a good person? Marisa was a witch. A good one sure but she proved the existence of the witches. Who knew if there were bad ones in Gensokyo?

Upon hearing the sound of something moving around the bushes, Izuku remembered Rumia and decided to gamble on something that was merely a possibility than dealing with a certainty. He knocked the door, waiting for the owner to open it.

For few minutes, there was nobody answering. At first, he was afraid that the owner was currently not in the house but soon felt at ease when it was opened.

The one who lived in the house was a blonde woman with blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue dress decorated with two pink ribbons, one going around her neck while the other around her waist. What stood out the most were a pair of dolls that were floating behind her, staring at him with their lifeless eyes.

"Oh, a traveler?"

* * *

**Answer to a review: **

**Reversus12: **Yeah, not only the Hakurei Barrier needs her to remain, Reimu is also really _really _lazy. She's also quite violent, once attacking Kogasa just because she asked her to pay for the needles that the umbrella youkai made.

* * *

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


	3. Kelly's Song

**Kelly's Song**

Inside a house in the middle of the forest, Izuku carefully bring the cup of still steaming tea to his face while the blonde woman simply enjoyed hers. While the latter had an expression of serenity, the same could not be said for her guest.

"_What's with all these dolls?_" Izuku thought, nervous under their lifeless stares.

He had watched those dolls floating around, preparing the tea that the two of them currently drink. The boy wondered how the woman managed to control so many dolls at once. The amount of attention needed alone to track each doll would be tremendous, let alone making them work.

"So, judging from your clothes..." The woman suddenly spoke up. "...I take it that you're an outsider?"

"Y-Yes. I am not from Gensokyo." Izuku replied. "It's not my first time in here, though."

"Ah, I see. You're just like that girl."

She was likely referring to Sumireko Usami, someone who – like him – was from the Outside World and regularly went to the Land of Fantasy.

"So, I take it that before long, you will return back to your home?" She asked again.

"Er, no." Izuku put down his cup. "Mine seems to be less...controllable. I can't decide when I will go and return or even how long I will be here."

"Well, that's a pickle." The blonde raised her cup, allowing one of her dolls to fill it back. "You can stay here for the night. That is, if you don't return back during your sleep."

"Thank you very much, Miss...?"

"It's Alice. Alice Margatroid."

* * *

When he woke up, Izuku found himself falling asleep in front of the computer. He looked around for a bit, making sure that he was indeed back home. After that, he picked up his notebook and opened it.

He had only written few pages on it but the boy knew that it was only a matter of time until they were filled. He looked at the pages of "Reimu Hakurei," "Marisa Kirisame," and "Keine Kamishirasawa." The first pages that he created. He then opened a pair of empty pages and started to fill them, titled "Alice Margatroid."

Just like in his books about heroes, it contained interesting points about the people of Gensokyo that he recorded. There were pictures of them, the type of ability that they possessed, and many more.

"Izuku, it's lunch time!"

Hearing his mother calling for him, the boy quickly filled up the pages before closing it back and putting the book down.

"Coming, mom!"

* * *

Inside the main room, Alice was currently sewing the outfit of one of her dolls as they were busy preparing a breakfast for her and her guest. While she had no more need for food, one of the perks of becoming a magician, it was still an enjoyable activity. At the very least, that meant she could focus on the taste of the food and ignore the nutritional values.

"Morning..." Izuku greeted them as he entered the room.

"Morning to you as well." Alice greeted back. "It seems that you didn't return home last night."

"No. Actually, I remember returning." He rubbed his eyes. "Looks like I return back to here after having lunch with mom."

"...but it was night?" The puppeteer pointed out.

"Y-Yeah. That's something I noticed. When I...switch between Gensokyo and the Outside World, the timeline doesn't seem to align. Like, experiencing two sunrises from different places."

"I see." She then turned her attention to the dolls carrying two plates of food. "Ah, breakfast."

It was rather simple. Each plate contained two strips of bacon and scrambled egg. For the drink, the dolls poured two cups of tea with a small spoonful of honey as sweetener.

"So, what's your plan after this?" Alice asked as she blew her tea.

"I am thinking of going to the Hakurei Shrine." Izuku answered the question. "Or at least the Human Village."

"I plan to visit the village as well." She put her cup down. "We could go there together."

"That's a good plan. When will we leave?"

"Soon."

* * *

After she locked the door, both Alice and Izuku walked away from the former's house and went towards their destination, the Human Village. They had only taken several steps when several fairies suddenly flew into their sight. The blonde clicked her tongue before getting rid of them with danmaku.

"Don't you think that's a bit...too much?" The boy commented. "They haven't even done anything to us."

"When it comes to fairies, it's a matter of time." She replied. "Better take them out one by one than letting them gather. A large group of fairies can cause damage equivalent to a spell card."

Following her own words, every time the duo encountered fairies, Alice hit them with danmaku. While Izuku was rather hesitant at first, he decided to follow the puppeteer's advice after having to avoid attack after attack from them.

"Are they always like this?" The green-haired boy asked before ducking to avoid a danmaku.

"No. It's just the season." Alice replied as she hit the fairy. "Give it few months and they will calm down – uh, oh."

He didn't like that sound at all. Izuku turned his head to look at where she was looking. They saw a large group of fairies flying towards them. Wasting not even a second, Alice sent some of her dolls towards them while she picked up the boy with both of them going to the other direction.

"Hang on!"

"Uwaaahh!"

_BOOOM_

"Hmm, I suppose I'll put more gunpowder in the next batch."

"You put gunpowder in your dolls?!"

Alice didn't answer back. She looked back and saw that while many of the fairies have been taken care of by her Kamikaze dolls, there were nonetheless many who were still chasing them. Sighing, she stopped and turned around, already preparing her next move.

"Blue Sign, Fraternal French Dolls!"

Due to their large number, the fairies found it difficult avoiding attacks from Alice and her dolls. Those who managed to avoid the danmaku bullets were attacked by other dolls, armed with lance. Those that still managed to remain alive immediately retreat.

"That's all of them." The blonde declared.

"S-So, there wouldn't be more?" Izuku asked.

"...You're still not used with lives in Gensokyo, aren't you?"

"N-Not really. I haven't had much time looking around."

Alice merely sighed in response, continuing her journey towards the Human Village.

"Um, can you put me down, please?"

"It's faster this way."

* * *

When they arrived at the village, the duo was greeted by a guard. Despite seeing the puppeteer carrying a boy all the way to the gate, he made no comment about it. A part of Izuku wondered if such a sight was nothing compared to things that have occurred in Gensokyo.

He had a feeling that the answer was "yes."

"Well, looks like here is where we part away." Alice stated after the two of them entered the village.

"Yeah." Izuku said before giving a bow to her. "Thank you so much for your time, Miss Margatroid!"

"It's Alice." She replied. "Also, you're welcome. If only many in Gensokyo is as polite as you..."

The boy could only awkwardly laughed in agreement. The two of them waved to each other and walked to different direction. Unlike Alice, who already had a goal of her own, Izuku was basically walking aimlessly. All that he could think about was spending time until he returned back to the Outside World.

But spending time doing what?

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Izuku turned his head to the person who said that. It was a young woman in her mid-20's, wearing a white shirt underneath a light green vest which was also underneath a dark green shawl. To complement her top, she wore a grass green skirt that almost reached her ankles. Just like many in Gensokyo, she wore a hat – a black fedora with green bow – that covered most of her black hair.

As she walked towards the boy, he noticed that people gave her a wide-breath, despite the fact that many of them were not even close enough to obstruct her path. When she was closer, and seeing how some looked at her in reverence and fear, Izuku figured out the reason.

The woman – who was _not a human_ – in front of him radiated an aura that indicated that she was a being higher than mortals.

"From your clothes, you come from the Outside World, I suspect?" She commented, her right hand on her chin.

"Y-Yes. I am I-Izuku." He introduced himself, feeling nervous.

"Izuku? Nice name. I am Semai." The woman put her hand on her chest. "In case you are wondering, I am a god."

A god. 神; _kami_. That explained a lot.

He admitted that he should have expected it. After all, Gensokyo was a place where supernatural beings built their sanctuary.

It was, nonetheless, something unexpected. Izuku visited temples not only for celebration of important days like New Year but also to pray for small things like success in an exam. There was an altar in his house for his deceased grandparents. He knew about several important gods like Amaterasu-ōmikami and Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto.

He couldn't exactly be called religious though. Heck, he never expected that he would be meeting face-to-face with a god, as if he was meeting a normal person.

"Is there something wrong, Izuku?" Semai suddenly asked. "You suddenly go quiet after my introduction."

She suddenly squinted her eyes. The green orbs became sharper.

"Doeth thou not believe mine claim?"

Cold sweats started to form on his forehead. He was looking towards the ground in fear. One of the things that he heard about gods was that they blessed those that respect them and cursed those that disregard them.

"Ah, n-n-no! I-I don't, Kami-sama!" Izuku stated desperately. "I-It's just, I-I don't expect that m-my lowly self would…!"

Suddenly, he heard the sound of someone giggling. At first, he thought that someone was laughing at his misfortune; the people of Gensokyo were that sort of people. However, he soon realized that the sound came from in front of him. Raising his head, Izuku saw that Semai was the one who giggled.

"Sorry about that, little boy." She said to him. "You're an outsider. It's normal for humans like you to have a hard time believing in magic and youkai, let alone us gods."

Izuku didn't know how to react. If she was in anyway serious, he would likely ended up six-feet underground _at best_. In the end, all that he could do was sighing and holding back his tears.

"The Outside World…it's been quite a while since I visited it." Semai muttered with her eyes closed and head nodding.

"Eh?" Izuku heard it. "I thought the supernatural can no longer live back there."

"Slightly incorrect. For many, yes. But for some of us, we have no problem living there, if only on limited time." The god explained. "After all, it would be kind of hard to support the youkai population if they could only gain meat from outsiders that stumble to here, don't you think?"

"Ahahaha…yeah." The boy awkwardly laughed, remembering how he himself was almost eaten. "So, there are people that…hunt the humans on the Outside World?"

"Yep. Worry not, Japan has enough people that don't like living. Last time I check, Aokigahara still has many 'visitors.' It's a win-win!"

Two things appeared immediately in Izuku's mind. One, he disagreed with the notion that it was a win-win situation. Those people still have family that cared about them. Considering the grief that it would cause, he preferred that their death was prevented.

Second, _he really prefer not knowing about it at all_.

"Huh, look at the time." She suddenly stated, looking at the sun. "Well, time for some divine business. Farewell, little boy. Until we meet again."

Without even giving him a chance to say goodbye, Semai floated towards the sky and flew away. Izuku awkwardly remained where he stood, not sure on how to react at the fact that the god just basically left him there.

"Eh? Izuku? Is that you?"

The green-haired boy turned his head and saw that it was Marisa who called him. The witch, who seemed to be shopping judging from the bag that she carried, ran towards him.

"Hello there, Marisa." Izuku greeted her.

"Hey." She casually greeted. "So, where do you appear this time?"

"It's…near Alice's house."

"Alice's, eh? Well, you're very lucky. There's a lot of danger in the forest and I am not talking about the 'locals.'"

"I-I suppose." He scratched his head before remembering something. "Speaking of which, Marisa, how much do you know about the gods in Gensokyo?"

"Eh, not much, ze. I know about the Aki Sisters, the gods of autumn. Hina who is located near the mountain. The gods of the Moriya Shrine, the Haku… Actually, no, I don't know who the Hakurei's god is. Oh, there's also this one foreign god that wear ridiculous t-shirt."

"Umm…" Izuku was rendered speechless upon hearing that. That was…quite a lot of gods. "What about…Lady Semai?"

"Never heard of her. Speaking of which, she might be a new god. The Moriya's came to Gensokyo quite recently. I was born years before their arrival."

He nodded his head. Yaoyorozu no Kami; Eight Million Gods. It was not without reason that such a term exist in Shinto. Not only there were the gods recognized by the whole of Japan, there were also local gods that was only revered by the people living at the location and gods that nobody could be bothered with.

"Anyway, let's not discuss such a boring stuff." Marisa told him. "Let's go to the Hakurei Shrine. There's someone that I want to introduce to you, ze!"

"Really? Who?"

"Just see it for yourself. By the way, the fairies are in high spirit this season, so we need to fly."

Izuku, realizing the implication, could only pale at the thought of being flown by the witch.

* * *

When they arrived at the shrine, Izuku immediately went towards the nearest bush and let out his entire breakfast.

"Man, you should get used to this fast. You won't survive long in Gensokyo if not, ze." Marisa commented before letting out a laugh.

"Considering how you fly, what else do you expect?" The familiar voice of Reimu chastised the witch.

As he walked towards the girls while recovering as well, Izuku saw an unfamiliar face. It was a brown-haired girl, likely a high school student. Unlike the people of Gensokyo, her outfit looked more like the ones worn by people of the Outside World except the cloak which inside was inscribed with runes. The fact that she was looking at smartphone and not having a problem with it confirmed that she was an outsider.

"So, who do you bring here, Marisacchi?" The girl asked, diverting her attention from her phone.

"This is Izuku. Like you, he can enter Gensokyo willy-nilly." Marisa answered as she put said into a chokehold. "Unlike you, he can't control the when and where."

"I see. Someone with weaker version of my power." She pushed her glasses before looking at Izuku. "Name's Sumireko Usami, first-year student at Higashifukami High, real-life psychic, and first president of the Secret Sealing Club!"

"H-Hello, I am Izuku Midoriya." He introduced himself. "I…"

"So, tell me, how much have you explored your ability? This is quite important, especially considering the kind of destruction that ESP could bring. Like, for example, during my battle against Mokou, I…"

"I-I don't have one!" Izuku cut in. "I…am quirkless. I don't have any power. Well, except the magic that I just recently found but unlike you, I…"

"Oh, I am quirkless as well."

"Eh?"

"My reaction when I found out."

Sumireko put her phone into her pocket. She looked at the sky, as if reminiscing about past memories.

"Like many other child, I was happy when I found out about my 'quirk' and used every available chance to use it. The first aspect of my power that I discovered was telekinesis, so most people just shrug it off." She began to explain. "Of course, I am not stupid enough to do it in front of the police."

"So, how did you come to the conclusion that you're quirkless?" Izuku asked.

"Pinky toe joint." Sumireko stated. "I heard how a classmate of mine commented on how everyone has only one while I have two. His quirk, in case you're wondering, is X-ray vision."

"What does toe joint has anything to do with power?" Marisa joined in. "Sound nonsense to me."

"Beats me." The psychic shrugged. "Anyway, telling what happened after that would be too bothersome so I'll summarize it; it caused me to be curious, which resulted in me discovering more aspects of my power, and ended up with me discovering the paranormal."

"Which ended with you getting your ass kicked by us." Reimu added before snorting.

"H-Hey, I kicked some of your asses as well!" Sumireko immediately retorted.

Izuku remained silent, trying to comprehend at what he had just heard. The girl in front of him, Sumireko, had just told him how she was like him, quirkless. Yet that did not mean she was powerless, judging by how she and Reimu talked. She also had no reason at all to lie about not having a quirk.

It raised his hope. He had one when Izuku found out that he could use magic. All he needed to do was to train himself and mastering it. He had seen the fight between Reimu and Marisa and knew that had they been heroes, they could easily been among the top.

To know that Sumireko, an outsider liked him, could stand on their side, gave him hope that he could indeed become a hero like All Might.

"Hello, Earth to Izuku. Can you hear me?"

He blinked several times before noticing that Marisa was in front of him, having just waving her hand. Behind her, both Reimu and Sumireko looked at him with the former looking offended.

"Really, just because you're not part of the conversation, you go to your own world?" The shrine maiden stated before scoffing. "How impolite."

A part of Izuku wanted to tell Reimu that she was even more impolite; when they first met, she immediately called him by his given name while he at least tried to call her by her family name first. His experience told him that telling someone stronger than him that they did wrong tend to not end well.

"That aside, Izuku. You should further your training, ze." Marisa said. "As you currently are, I still doubt that you can survive long here."

"I-I know." The boy scratched his head. "I was actually considering training in my home, but I was too busy with my research. Then there's explaining to my mother on…"

"Nope. Not that." The witch cut in. "What I am talking about is your inability to fly."

"Yeah. It's hard to use the full power of danmaku if you can't fly. Also, it's easier to avoid one by doing the same." Reimu explained. "Just like danmaku, it is easy to learn how to fly, especially since you can use magic already."

"R-Really?!" Izuku excitedly shouted. "F-Flying would be a wonderful ability to have. One of the Top 10 Heroes, Hawks, is famous not only for the versatility of his feathers but also the speed that allowed him to move from one place to another! This speed is gained through flying, just as how his name indicates that…"

"Izuku!"

"Sorry, Reimu!"

"I see. So, he's a dork." Sumireko commented.

"So, how I do it?" The boy asked.

"Simple." Marisa said. "Like magic, you have to believe that you can fly."

"Erm…that…isn't exactly helpful."

"Hmm, Izukucchi…" The psychic suddenly called him. "Have you ever been a chunni?"

"N-No! Wait, did…"

"Well, that's a bummer." She commented before sighing. "As someone from the Outside World and not believing in fantasy until recently, Izuku would have a hard time believing that he could fly. Danmaku is easy because he basically imagined himself having a quirk but that also made flying harder since 'energy quirk' and 'flying quirk' have no relation whatsoever."

"…what?"

Marisa was not the only one that was confused. Reimu also showed a face that indicated that she didn't understand what Sumireko was trying to say. Izuku looked like he got it, on the other hand.

"Quirk is the name of an ability that someone has and their _only _ability." Izuku explained. "They might use it creatively, like how Endeavor could use his flame to propel himself like rocket. But his ability will always revolve around fire."

"And there's no connection between using magic and flying?" The witch asked.

"Well, I imagine using magic like as if I have a 'quirk.' Partially at least." The boy continued. "Because my 'quirk' is creating bullet from magical energy, it's…kind of hard to imagine myself flying since that would be a 'quirk' and I already have one."

"Can't you just imagine yourself having a 'quirk' of magical energy manipulation and used it to fly?" The psychic suggested.

"Maybe. But I still don't exactly understand the whole concept of…"

"I still don't exactly get but I think I get the point." The shrine maiden stated. "Too much disbelief."

"I know!"

Without warning, Marisa suddenly took Izuku to the sky. The latter screamed as they flew at high speed. Once they reached a certain height, the blonde's hand holding his was the only that prevented the boy from falling.

"M-M-Marisa?! W-What the…?! Eh?!"

"I have been taught that people could release their true potential when they are on the brink of death." She explained as if she was talking about the weather. "Remember, Izuku; believe."

She let him go.

"UUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

* * *

"YOU IDIOT!"

The shout was followed by a hit to the head with a _gohei_. The hit was strong enough to basically knock the witch out. Sighing, Reimu looked at the boy that she rescued, looking as if he was on the verge of visiting the Sanzu River.

"That…_incident _aside, Marisa does have a point." She stated. "I am not going to suggest it though."

"It might not be that difficult." Sumireko said. "I know people like Izuku, obsessed with the front seat of seeing the fight between heroes and villains. Sooner or later, he will have his 'close encounter with death' experience."

The high school student looked at Izuku, who was still looking as if he was interested in having a vacation in the Sanzu.

"Well, other than this." She immediately added. "Ah, that's right. Izukucchi, you have a phone, right?"

"Hmm?" The green-haired boy, slightly recovering from the shock, nodded. "Y-Yes?"

"Good! Let's exchange numbers. It will be good for us to be able to contact each other, two people that can regularly visit this fantastic place!"

"Sure."

While Sumireko could simply inserted the numbers into her phone, Izuku had to ask a paper and pen from Reimu as he didn't bring his phone. Perhaps next time, he should bring his. It might be out of service range, but phone could be used for…

It was only then that he realized something important.

"_I-I-I shared numbers with a girl!_"

The revelation caused Izuku's face to become red like tomato. Sumireko, seeing this, couldn't help but laughed.

"You really _are _a dork!" She commented before laughing further.

Reimu, meanwhile, tilted her head in confusion.

* * *

**Answers to some reviews: **

**FrostingFlames: **Perhaps. I don't have an account in AO3 though.

**Draconixspirit13: **Nope, the outfit will simply Izuku's outfit in Gensokyo in case that he arrived in his PJ.

His hero outfit won't be All Might-inspired, however. Here's a hint: Abe no Seimei.

* * *

**And it's done. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


	4. A Secret Revealed

**A Secret Revealed**

Inko had noticed a change in her son.

By all means, Izuku was a normal boy. There were food that he liked and food that he disliked. While he didn't wear the color often, his favorite was green, just like his hair and name. He studied diligently and thus one of the top in his class in academic (not so much in PE though). He had a hobby, which was watching the heroes in action and searching about quirk.

Kind of ironic about the last part since he was quirkless. Though that maybe as a way to compensate.

Speaking about it, it was due to that that no matter how cheerful Izuku was, there would always cloud of depression over him. All Might was his most favorite hero, his idol, and he always wanted to be a hero like him, one that bring smile to the masses, ever since he watched the Symbol of Peace in action for the first time.

The fact that he was quirkless basically ended that dream. He did still say that he wanted to be a hero, but Inko could detect from his voice that he himself doubted it.

It was no longer the case. When he watched the news about a hero capturing villain, there was no sign of longing, as if the thought of not having a quirk didn't bother him at all. The cloud of sadness that tend to hang over him disappeared. In short, Izuku was happier and as her mother, Inko was happy as well.

Though she wondered what caused her son to have an interest in mythology and supernatural. It all started when she found a book about youkai in his bedroom when she was cleaning the apartment. She also watched Izuku watched a documentary of how Buddhism and Taoism arrived to Japan during the Heian period, which was not something he previously interested in.

She couldn't help but wonder about it.

"Say, Izuku." Inko spoke up. "I can't help but wonder about your new interest."

Izuku, who was busy enjoying his favorite katsudon, could only blink in confusion. "Huh?"

"You seems to be interested in paranormal stuff. You're usually only interested in heroes and quirk."

"Oh." He put down his chopsticks. "It's due to a forum that I am looking at. Apparently, villains in the rural area tend to be called youkai by those who lived there. Likely because some of them look like youkai, like a kidnapper with a horn, which makes her look like an oni."

Secretly, Izuku wondered if those "villains" were indeed youkai. Records of youkai behavior would make them considered villains today and even for the "good" ones, there was always an advice that one must be careful when dealing with them.

If it was true, then – related to that kidnapper – he prayed that her victims received a quick death. They were likely taken by her because the oni wanted to eat them.

"Related to that, there's Ryukyu, who can turn into dragon, and quirks that can look mythical. So, I can't help but digging a little bit on it and the more I read about it, the more interested I am with supernatural."

"I see." Inko nodded her head. "Well, it's good to hear that you've expanded your hobby."

Izuku felt bad for lying to his mother. But to be fair, it wasn't like he could say that his interest was because he could suddenly get teleported to the home of youkai and assorted supernatural creatures and needed those knowledge to increase his chance of survival. That was one way ticket to the mental hospital.

* * *

At the Hakurei Shrine, Izuku was training his skill in the usage of magical bullet. He could already made various shape with his magic – like how he could create Reimu's _ofuda _or Marisa's star – but he could only shot them once at a time, not even enough if he faced fairies let alone a youkai.

It was only thanks to Alice that he arrived at the Human Village without harm back then.

The boy had made an improvement, however. His rate of fire had increased, at least equal to that of a submachine gun. He could also create a spread shot, albeit at a lower rate of fire. If one looked at his spread shot from above, it would appeared like a symbol for signal; Wi-Fi signal, specifically.

As he trained himself, Reimu was sitting on the floor of her house, eating dango as she intensely observed Izuku. At first, he thought that she was looking at something else that just happened to be on the same direction as him. After a while though, the boy realized that it was none other than him that the shrine maiden was looking at.

"Um…" He scratched his head in confusion. "Is there something wrong, Reimu?"

"There is…something…" Reimu tilted her head while keeping her eyes on him. "…about you that is…familiar…"

"Eh?" Izuku responded. "What do you mean?"

"Your presence…I think I have seen it before." She explained. "As a shrine maiden, I can feel it if say, a youkai tries to pass as a human. Human, youkai, ghost, everyone has different presence. Not exactly the best way to detect someone, but as you see, it has its use."

"I see." He nodded with a hand on his chin. "So, who do I feel like?"

"Dunno." She shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me like that! Do you know how frustrating it is to deal with the same people over and over again? I don't have time to remember all of them."

True. Unlike the heroes in the Outside World, Reimu tend to face the same opponents many times, mostly because they were bored and causing chaos to alleviate it. Plus, Marisa told him that the shrine maiden was kind of a slacker, so every fight that she must do was every opportunity of resting taken.

"Ah, speaking of which, I suggest you train your travel-between-worlds power." The shrine maiden suddenly said. "Also, master it in three months or less."

"Um, why?" The boy asked. "Is there something important?"

"There's going to be a party and if possible, I want you to join in as well."

"R-Really?! I can?!"

"Of course. Sumireko has experienced one so why not you?" Reimu smiled. "Besides, I am going to need a hand when the party becomes wild and you're very generous with you donation."

Izuku couldn't help but laughed awkwardly at the shrine maiden's greed. He also couldn't help but get worried when she mentioned _when _the party becomes wild, not "if."

"By the way, is there something I need to know about?" He asked. "Like, a social faux pas or something?"

"Just act respectful. Basically, like how you usually is." She answered with a wave of her hand. "Ah, that's right. Beware of the Oni and Tengu. They'll drink you under the table."

"Um, there's alcohol in the party?"

"Of course! What kind of party it is without booze?"

"…I am still underage."

"What's an underage?"

Now that she mentioned it, does that concept even exist in Gensokyo?

"It means, by the law, I am not allowed to drink any alcohol until I reached a certain age." He explained.

"Sounds stupid." Reimu commented. "Well, I could say if you don't want to, you don't have to drink. But considering the guests…"

He wondered if it was good idea to attend it.

* * *

Visiting a café was not exactly something that Izuku was fond of doing. He didn't exactly hate it but he never see a reason to do so. At least, until this happened.

"Oi, Izukucchi! Over here!"

It only took him a while to find Sumireko. She had decided to forgo wearing her cape, likely due to how impractical it was. He also spotted that there were two drinks and two donuts on the table. The boy walked towards her and took the empty seat.

"Thanks for meeting with me, Sumireko." Izuku said. "I appreciate it."

"It's alright. Us outsiders should look up for each other." She replied along with a wave of her hand. "So, this is about the upcoming party, right?"

"Yeah." He grabbed his drink and sipped a bit. Caramel flavor. "You have attended at least once, right?"

"Yep." The psychic took out her cellphone. "Advices on surviving the party?"

Izuku nodded. "Especially regarding Oni and Tengu."

"Ah, yes." She then showed him the picture of a blonde girl with two large horns, holding a gourd. "Her name is Suika Ibuki. She's quite friendly but her love of drinking – as expected of an Oni – means that if she gets her hand on you, you would likely find yourself being forced to drink the sake that she carried in her gourd."

He couldn't help but whimpered at the news.

"If that happens, don't worry. Just show that you can't hold your liquor. That's how I got away last time." She continued. "Oni drinks for fun and if you can't handle it, then it won't be fun."

"Silver lining, I guess." The green-haired boy commented. "Oh, that's right. Must not lie to her, correct?"

"You've done your homework." Sumireko then showed Izuku a different picture; a pair of women with black wings and tokin, one of them holding a _hauchiwa _fan. "They are Aya Shameimaru and Hatate Himekaidou. The two of them are Tengu reporters. While Hatate tend to stay in the Youkai Mountain, thus unlikely to come, Aya will _definitely _be there. She's the one with the fan, by the way."

"Tengu…they are either disruptive demons or protective spirits." The boy stated. "Depending on the sources. The Buddhists believed the former while the latter was due to the legend of Minamoto no Yoshitune being taught by one."

"Both, if you ask me." The girl replied. "Anyway, Aya is a reporter. A paparazzi, to be exact. She would be off-duty during the party unless an incident happens. She's also over a thousand years old and won many of her battles by accident. Be respectful to her, no matter how annoying she is."

Izuku blinked upon hearing it. That was…old. Like, _really _old. That meant Aya could have likely witnessed the rise of the Minamoto Clan, something that happened a _long _time ago.

"In general, just act like how you usually are and you're safe. Though some might find it funny to bully you for your lack of spine." Sumireko stated, causing him to sighing. "Oh, almost forgot! Very important!"

She showed him a photo of a green-haired woman in plaid dress drinking sake.

"Izuku, listen to everything I say and remember it perfectly for your own good." The seriousness in her voice caused him to become worried. "Yuuka Kazami. Do. Not. Approach. Her. Find a place _far _away from her and do everything to _not_ gain her attention."

"Is…is she that bad?"

"She considers genocide to be a game. She said it's a joke, but that alone should tell you how…different in morality she is to humans, even compared to other youkai." The psychic warned him. "She also hates people who disturb flowers, with them often ended up being vaporized on spot."

Izuku couldn't help but gulped in fear. He remembered a school trip during elementary school. To be more precise, the one where his classmates picked up flowers and threw them around, something that kids often do. If Yuuka Kazami really hated people who did that and responded by vaporizing them…well, let's just say it was a good thing that she was nowhere close to them.

"Fortunately, she is polite and quite civil." She continued. "But until you understand the culture of Gensokyo like the back of your hand, better avoid her than risking accidentally provoking her."

He could only nodded his head in response. Hopefully, such a meeting would _not _occur.

* * *

After she told the rest to him, the two of them parted away, not forgetting to pick up their respective drink and donut. With his donut already eaten, Izuku was now focused on his phone, looking at the information that she sent.

There was an information on how to deal with a hangover and how to disguise it as something else. As much as he disliked it – due to reminding him on what could happen – he also knew the importance of knowing it.

There was also the list of food that might be served. Sumireko admitted that not only it was incomplete, there might be food that wouldn't be on the list because she only recently joined in. He was holding back his drool, knowing how delicious some of them while wanting to know the taste of others. He never eat bamboo shoot before.

Perhaps the most important was the guest list. Or, to be more precise, the people that were likely to come to the party. He was quite shocked to find out that Rumia was one of them. He couldn't help but felt terrified upon seeing the picture of her smiling face. It seemed that he wouldn't be sleeping well tonight.

Deciding to not stare at the face of terror any longer, Izuku quickly swiped the screen of his phone. He raised his eyebrow upon seeing Remilia Scarlet, Mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and a vampire. Looks like there were also Western monsters in Gensokyo as well. He then saw that there were Chinese as well, with Hong Meiling, the gatekeeper of the mansion, being one of them.

While some of them surprised him quite a bit, nothing was compared to his reaction when he saw the picture of Youmu Konpaku, a half-human half-phantom gardener of Hakugyokurou.

"_How…how does that even work?!_" He thought as his mind went to overdrive. "_Isn't phantom like, a person who is already dead and doesn't go to the afterlife? So, does that mean Youmu Konpaku is…half alive, half dead? No, no, it couldn't be that. It's too absurd even for Gensokyo! Wait, when someone died, their soul departed from the body. So, maybe her half-phantom part is actually simply her soul floating around her body. But it is said that she's the gardener of Hakugyokurou, an afterlife. So, shouldn't her soul…_"

So focused he was on solving the mystery of half-human half-phantom, he didn't realize that the driver of a car had lost control of the vehicle…

…and was approaching him fast.

* * *

"Look out, kid!"

Death Arms didn't know how much it would help. Nevertheless, it was at least _something _rather than doing nothing at all.

While other pedestrians noticed the car and immediately moved out of its way, the green-haired boy, however, was too focused on his phone to even realize that other people were running away.

It seemed to work though. The boy turned his head towards him, causing him to saw the approaching out-of-control car. His eyes became wide. He screamed…

…and flew upwards directly into a canopy.

The hero winced upon seeing it. The boy basically penetrated the canopy halfway through and was now stuck in it. At least he was more or less safe and this kind of usage of quirk could be justified, thus he was not in trouble at all.

* * *

After he was retrieved from the canopy, Izuku was soon transported to the hospital where the doctor checked him to ensure that he was fine. After performing several tests, he was cleared and could now return back home. His mother had been called and was currently on her way to the hospital.

"_I flew._" He thought in his mind. "_I remember it clearly. I flew._"

It seemed that Marisa was right. A life-or-death situation was enough motivation for him to basically abandon logic and accepted that he could fly. Reimu was also right in that it was very much not preferable. But it was now water under the bridge.

Izuku took out his phone and started to search. If he wasn't wrong, among the information that Sumireko shared with him, one of them was about…

"_Ah, here it is._"

The first thing that he noticed was a warning that if one was not careful, first time trying would result in an injured head. Rubbing his bandaged head, Izuku scrolled down, reading more. She wrote down how flying was like walking but vertical, at least initially. She suggested floating a few inches from the ground as a start and slowly increasing the height.

Sound simple enough. It was also something that he could do easily at the apartment. No need to…

"IZUKU!"

Surprised by the shout, the green-haired boy accidentally threw his phone upward. Fortunately, he managed to catch it, much to his relieve. On the other hand, he was also unprepared for a hug from his on-the-verge-of-tears mother.

"Izuku! I am so glad that you are alright!" Inko said as she hugged him tighter. "When I heard the news, oh, thank gods…!"

He didn't say anything in return. All he did was simply smiling and returning the hug.

* * *

"Manipulation of energy?" The witch asked before taking a bite on her cracker.

"Yep. That's the name assigned to my 'quirk.'" The middle school student replied. "When I showed them how I could create a ball of light and float a bit off the ground, they believed that I manipulated a certain energy in order to do both."

"Which is not incorrect." The shrine maiden commented. "So, what's your plan now?"

"I plan to follow All Might's path. Which means I will enter UA." Seeing the two of them confused, he explained further. "UA is the best hero school in Japan. As the name indicates, they teach the students not only the normal curriculum but also how to become a hero."

"Hero…they are people who beat up people who break the laws, right?" The blonde stated.

"That's…not an incorrect description." While heroes did more than beating up villains, Izuku knew that that was likely the only thing that she cared about. "It's basically like how you and Reimu go around and solved incidents, only formalized."

"Ah, gotcha!" Marisa snapped her finger. "By the way, what's a curriculum?"

The boy then remembered that Gensokyo was – no offense – backward compared to the Outside World. He should have expected that a concept such as curriculum would not exist here. Heck, just days ago, he found out that the concept of underage didn't exist either.

It was also at that moment that he realized he didn't understand what exactly a curriculum was either. He knew that it was related to a schedule, experience gained from studying, and goals. How to explained in a way that they could understand?

As she waited for the answer, Reimu took a cracker from the plate and was about to eat it when she noticed that there was already a bite mark on it. Considering the size, she turned her head, just in time to see the literal little rascal running away.

"You annoying inchling!" She shouted as the culprit increased her speed. "Get back in here!"

The other two people – Izuku and Marisa – simply watched as their friend chased after the princess of the inchlings, Shinmyoumaru Sukuna. The boy looked at the witch, who simply shrugged. He decided to not say anything and simply picked up a cracker. Considering that there was a fairy of hell living under the shrine, an inchling was not that surprising.

His eyes widened as he realized what he had just thought. A part of him wondered at how fast he adapted to the strangeness that was Gensokyo.

* * *

While Sumireko had given the information regarding the denizens of Gensokyo, Izuku kept working on his Gensokyo journal. Partially because it had become a hobby of his, partially also so that he could bring it with him to the Land of Fantasy.

It was better to lose his journal than his phone. The latter was much more expensive to replace.

After adding new information on the pages about Reimu, Marisa, and Keine, along with creating pages for Suika and Aya, he put down his pencil before stretching his arms and fingers. It had been quite a work. If the boy had to be honest, creating the hero journals was easier.

While he was relaxing, Izuku decided to train his magic a bit. He raised his right hand and formed a ball of energy on the palm. He frowned, noticing how harder it was to use magic in the Outside World. He knew from Sumireko of how she fought against some of the denizens of Gensokyo in the Outside World, meaning that the solution of his problem was simply becoming as strong as them.

Considering how Marisa tend to boast on how strong she had become, it was not an impossible goal.

A little bit curious, Izuku decided to modify the shape of his bullet. Remembering how Reimu used ones shaped like _ofuda_, he tried to turn his ball into that. Slowly, it became flatter, to the point of being as thin as a paper. He then attempted to write something on it. It took quite a time but in the end, he managed to write the kanji for "magic."

Dispelling the card, the boy then tried to make several of them at the same time. All that he did was sending several small bullets all over his room, one of them creating a hole in his All Might poster, right in the smiling face of the hero.

"That's a limited edition…" Izuku stated as despair fell unto him.

* * *

"Oi, wake up! You can't sleep here!"

Hearing the voice, he abruptly opened his eyes and sat up. First, he noticed that he was currently sitting on stairways. Second, he looked at the person who woke him up.

It was a little girl with blonde hair wearing a purple dress with white sleeves. On the dress, there were several pictures of frog. What stood out the most about her outfit was the wide-brimmed hat with frog eyes on it. That was not what stood out the most regarding her, however.

It was that she had an aura of a god.

"Hello, Earth to mind." The god approached him and waved her hand in front of his face. "Do you copy?"

"Ah, yes." Izuku immediately replied. "This…is Gensokyo, right?"

"Not first time visiting, huh?" She answered indirectly. "Anyway, it's not safe in here for you. Who knows who you meet in the Youkai Mountain?"

The boy's eyes widened upon hearing that. When the god ascended the stairways, he immediately followed her and made sure they were close, much to her amusement, judging from the laugh coming from her mouth.

"By the way, I am Suwako Moriya." The god introduced herself. "Just call me Suwako, young man."

"W-Well. I am Izuku Midoriya." He introduced himself in return. "Lady Suwako…your name…"

"Yep, as in Lake Suwa. The one in Nagano."

As they continued their walk, Izuku put his hand on his chin. There was something…familiar about the name.

"_Lake Suwa._" He thought. "_Why does the name ring a bell?_"

When they reached the top, the boy saw that it was another Shinto shrine, not unlike the Hakurei Shrine. As they passed through the _torii_, he saw that there was a shrine maiden sweeping the pathway. She dressed similar to Reimu, only that the red was replaced with blue and the top was white while Reimu's red. The girl turned her head towards them, smiling.

"_That green hair…_"

"Welcome back, Lady Suwako!" She greeted the god before looking at Izuku. "Who is this?"

"Ah, this is Izuku Midoriya, someone from the Outside World." The god introduced him. "He's like Sumireko, it seems."

"I see." The green-haired girl turned her attention to him, keeping the smile. "Greetings, sir. I am…"

"Sanae Kochiya!"

The two residents of the Moriya Shrine blinked several times upon hearing that. Izuku's eyes were as wide as saucers, his jaw on the verge of dropping to the ground as he pointed at the shrine maiden.

"Y-Y-You're Sanae Kochiya, the missing high school girl!"

* * *

**It is done.**

**Alright, some of you have stated how the fights in my story so far are plain and boring and I agree with you. It is something that I am still quite struggling about, considering how **_**Touhou **_**is a 2-D bullet hell game while **_**My Hero Academia **_**is 3-D. OK, it's 2-D considering it's an anime, but I am sure you get my point. Then there's also the fact that the fights in **_**My Hero Academia **_**does not follow the Spell Card rules, obviously. **

**It's only recently I find out that some of **_**Touhou **_**games, like **_**Urban Legend in Limbo**_**, is actually a fighting game rather than bullet hell. I also found out about an anime created by fans called **_**The Memories of Phantasm**_**. While not an official one, I think I get some ideas on how 3-D bullet hell is like. Hopefully, with these, I can improve the fight scene. **

**Well, how do you think? Any suggestion that you want to give? **

**Also, review this chapter, please **


	5. To Be Forgotten

**To Be Forgotten **

Inside the living room of the Moriya Shrine, the trio of Izuku, Sanae, and Suwako was sitting, two bottles of Ramune on the table. While the tiny god already happily drinking her own Ramune, the third bottle, the humans – on the other hand – looked at their own drink nervously.

"_Shouldn't have shouted that._" Izuku reprimanded himself.

Though to be fair, anyone would do that if they saw the person that the entire nation looked after.

Sanae Kochiya, the high school student and shrine maiden at the local shrine who disappeared years ago. The nature of her disappearance made her a celebrity when the news was spread. Even to this day, many were still looking after her.

"_Especially her family._" The boy winced, remembering that painful part.

There were many details regarding her disappearance, but the general summary was that one day, her teacher noticed Sanae's absence from class. Because the school didn't receive any sick letter or something of the sort, they informed her family about it. Accounts describe how her parents called her at least thirty times before they called the police at noon.

As the investigation proceeded, the gathered clues pointed out the possibility of kidnapping. Several CCTV cameras had recorded her of being followed by someone using an umbrella. Her phone was discovered by a homeless man inside a garbage bin, everything inside erased so perfectly that it could be mistaken for a new phone had there was no her phone chains, a frog and a snake, on it.

After that, the search became nationwide. Many heroes known for their investigative skills were involved, whether it was official or not. While it was not officially announced, there were rumors that even Endeavor, No. 2 Hero with an excellent track record of solved cases, was involved.

Despite all the resources being poured, the case met nothing but dead end after another.

As he followed the shrine maiden and god, Izuku believed that he figured out what actually happened that day. Sanae worked as a shrine maiden at the _Moriya _Shrine and the god that he met after waking up was Suwako _Moriya_. He had been told that gods could no longer live in the present day and had to move to Gensokyo to survive. The first god that he met, Semai, told him that youkai and gods could be at the Outside World for a limited time.

Conclusion: it was not a kidnapping case but rather a runaway one. The time was up for Suwako Moriya to be able to live in the Outside World and she decided to move to Gensokyo. Sanae, either being ordered by her or due to her devotion, followed the god to here.

"Oh, what is this?"

The three of them turned their heads towards the door. Standing in front of them was a woman with intense blue hair and dark red eyes, wearing an elaborate red shirt with long white sleeves and a round mirror over the center of her chest, paired with a long black skirt with a red flower print hem.

Izuku figured almost immediately that she was like Suwako, a god.

"Ah, Kanako!" Suwako happily greeted her. "You're back! So, how's the meeting?"

"It went well, all things considered." She replied before pointing at Izuku. "So, who's this?"

"A-Ah, sorry!" He immediately stood up and bowed. "G-Good day, madam. My name is Izuku Midoriya."

"I see." The god nodded. "Well, little boy, I am Kanako Yasaka. The co-god of the Moriya Shrine along with Suwako."

"Kanako, here!"

Her fellow god suddenly appeared beside her, offering a bottle of Ramune. Sighing, Kanako nonetheless accepted it before walking to take a seat near the table.

"You're from the Outside, I take it?" The blue-haired god asked.

"Y-Yes?" Izuku replied, feeling confused by the question.

"So, I take it that you know about Sanae."

Ah.

"Are…are they still looking?"

That question came from the shrine maiden herself. The boy turned his head to look at her, who had an…unreadable expression. He knew what she meant by that.

"Yes." He answered directly, not beating around the bush. "They're still looking for you."

"I see…" Her mood immediately took a nose-dive, as if it was not low enough.

Kanako clicked her tongue before saying, "I know we shouldn't have agreed with that old hag."

He couldn't help but feel at loss in the situation. He knew that they were speaking about something specific, but whatever it was, he didn't know.

"Izuku, come on, take a seat," Suwako said as she tapped the tatami floor. "We'll explain it to you."

Nodding his head, the green-haired boy once again took a seat.

"OK, as a law-abiding citizen of Japan, you must be in a dilemma." The child-looking god spoke. "You know the location of Sanae, who people have been looking after for years. Yet the information, shall we say, not something people will believe."

She was right.

Izuku remembered watching the interview of Sanae's mother on the TV. While she appeared strong in front of the public, there were signs that inside, the woman was crying and in despair. Now knowing where she was, he wanted to tell the authority about it, so that the Kochiya could finally know what happened to Sanae.

Her situation, for the lack of better words, made it complicated, however.

"You see, the answer is actually quite simple." Suwako continued. "Silence."

"Eh?" He became confused.

"Just remain silent. Don't speak about it. In the end, people will no longer care about Sanae. For them, the girl named 'Sanae Kochiya' never exists."

Now the boy was even more confused than before. Sanae Kochiya would never exist for the people of the Outside World? While the search was not as big as it was when the disappearance occurred and months after that, the police and the heroes were still nonetheless on the lookout. Especially during the anniversary of the incident.

"I see that you still don't understand much about the nature of Gensokyo." Kanako joined in. "You see, this realm is a place where beings and objects that people have forgotten – that they no longer believe – come to. People don't believe in Youkai, they're here. People don't believe in gods, we're here. Get it?"

"I understand."

"Good. With that in mind, what will happen with Sanae living here?"

At first, he was still confused by what the gods were talking about. He put his hand on his chin, thinking deeply about it. Slowly, he started to piece together the puzzle. Once he finally figured it out, his eyes widened, unable to hide the shock that he felt.

"She…will be forgotten…"

"Bingo!" Suwako confirmed.

"B-B-But, w-what about me? What about Sumireko?" He exclaimed. "None of us are forgotten. Then, if objects here are also forgotten, then how…?"

"Because you're not denizens of Gensokyo. Merely visitors." Kanako explained. "As for objects, it's more complicated. If, say, a car appears in here, then you will still remember that car exists. But you will not remember _that _specific car ever exists."

"To make it even more complicated, 'being forgotten' in Gensokyo can have a different meaning." The smaller god added. "People still remember that we exist. They just don't believe that we're real in the first place."

"Thus, we can conclude that while people will not forget that Sanae is a missing high school student, they will just put it on the back of their minds." The blue-haired god finished. "After all, if people can move on despite thousands missing every year, what's one more on the statistic?"

"That's…"

Izuku had no idea how to reply.

It was quite frightening how the gods talked about it with the tone that could make them be mistaken to be talking about the weather. Then again, he supposed that was what made gods different from mortals. Despite their appearances, neither Kanako nor Suwako was a human.

"You don't look comfortable with the idea," Kanako stated. "And you've every right. That means you're a good person, if that makes you feel better."

"We don't exactly like this situation either," Suwako stated. "But our hands are quite tied regarding how to make Sanae disappeared."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"We want something that's more…final. Faking her death perhaps. That way, at least her family and friends would have closure, no false hope of her returning." The older-looking god answered before her face turned sour. "However, as payment for moving here, _that woman _wanted to be the one who decided how Sanae would disappear from the Outside World."

"A woman?"

"The Youkai of Boundaries, Yukari Yakumo."

Izuku knew that name; one of the creators of Gensokyo. The Sage of Gensokyo.

He had read the information about her from Sumireko. However, the psychic also put a warning on her notes, stating that he should accept it with a grain of salt, for most of them were either speculation or – worse - from the mouth of the Youkai herself. To say that Yukari might lie was like saying that water is wet.

Heck, she was known as a Youkai-like youkai. As if being a youkai alone was not dangerous enough.

"As you know," Kanako continued. "Sanae's disappearance caused quite a ruckus in the Outside World. Every time someone disappears, people will wonder if their loved ones will be next or even themselves."

"I am sure you can guess the whole purpose of this incident," Suwako said.

"Fear." He immediately answered.

To be a youkai is to be feared by humans. Even the friendliest youkai would still kill a human under the right condition. He was not talking about self-defense, by the way.

"Hey, Sanae." Suwako suddenly said. "You're silent all this time."

Hearing that, Izuku and Kanako turned their attention to the green-haired shrine maiden. Said girl slowly turned her head towards them, showing the reason why she didn't say anything during the whole conversation.

"Oh, Sanae..." The small god approached her as she took a handkerchief from her pocket.

"Ah, no. Lady Suwako." The descendant tried to reject. "It's…"

"No, no, it's fine." The ancestor replied as she wiped the tears. "You've been our most devoted follower. This is small compared to that."

As he watched them, Izuku felt a hand on his shoulder and looked upward, finding himself face-to-face with Kanako, who gave a sign to him to go outside. She walked out of the room with him following her, leaving the two of them alone.

"Sorry that you have to see that." The god told him. "Sanae is always emotional when it comes to her family."

"N-No, I understand." The boy replied.

"Listen, what we said earlier, I won't force it on you." She suddenly said. "If you do it though, then it will be easier for all of us."

"I…"

He was still conflicted about what to do. He tried to figure out what All Might – his idol – would do if he was in his position. No doubt the No. 1 Hero would immediately inform the authority about Sanae and would do his best so that the shrine maiden could reunite with her family. Something that you would expect from the best hero.

But he was no All Might.

He had no reputation that would make people trust him. He had no power to prevent Sanae from simply being hidden until the search stopped once more. And most importantly…

…he didn't even know if that would be the right choice.

"I'll…" He spoke. "I'll consider it."

"I appreciate it." Kanako closed her eyes and nodded.

When she opened them, Izuku was no longer where he stood.

* * *

As he walked back to his home after the school was over, Izuku once again possessed the depressed look that he often wore, which confused many of his classmates and teachers. He finally gained a quirk just several days ago, so should he still feel excited?

When he stopped at the traffic light, waiting for it to give the pedestrians green light, the boy noticed a certain poster on the pole. It was an old one, considering how tattered it was and that it was yellowing.

It was a poster of Sanae.

Fortunately for him, the light soon turned green, allowing him to cross the street, away from the pole. He walked faster than before now, wanting to return home as fast as he could. Luck, however, seemed to be not on his side as he then heard something that caused his heart to ache even more.

"…in the next episode, we will delve into the infamous disappearance of Sanae Kochiya, who has disappeared for…"

He turned his head for a bit, seeing the TVs on the other side of the store window, before outright sprinting. He attracted some stares due to his but he didn't care about them in the least.

He just wanted to go back to his home.

Once he reached the door of his apartment, Izuku immediately entered the room and closed the door as quickly as he could. His mother had told him that she would be out for business and thus he would be alone until night.

Good. He didn't want her to see him crying.

"I am sorry…" He muttered. "I am sorry…"

* * *

When he finally realized that he was no longer in his apartment, Izuku started to look around, finding out that he was in a field surrounded by trees and bushes. Because he didn't recognize his current location, he knew that he was somewhere in the part of Gensokyo that he hasn't visited yet.

Which meant the possibility of encountering dangerous youkai.

When he heard that something was moving through the bushes, the boy started to prepare a spell for him to use. When it came out, he almost sent out several bullets but stopped in the last second upon realizing that it was not a youkai.

It was a tiger.

"Um…" Immediately, he thought about what he should do in this situation.

The animal in front of him didn't show any sign of hostility. In fact, it simply looked at him with eyes filled with curiosity, tilting its head as if it was wondering about his presence. However, there was still the fact that it was, you know, a _tiger_.

Speaking of which, wasn't tiger not native to Japan? Then again, he was talking about Gensokyo, the Land of Fantasy.

"Oh, a guest?"

Izuku turned his head – but making sure that the tiger was still within sight – to look at the newcomer. She was a woman with shoulder-length pink hair with Chinese-styled buns, wearing a white top under a maroon tabard with a large rose-shaped ornament and a green skirt. He also noticed that her right hand was covered in bandages.

"Um, good day, ma'am." He greeted her with a bow. "I am…"

"Izuku Midoriya, right?" She said his name before being introduced. "Reimu talked a lot about you."

"I-I see." He said, scratching his head.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The woman then bowed back. "I am Ibarakasen. You can call me Kasen for short. I am but a simple hermit."

"Hermit?" The boy looked at him with confusion on his face, causing her to giggle.

"Let me guess; it's my youthful look, right?" Kasen stated as she smiled.

"Ah, yes…no…I mean…" He tried not to offend her.

"It's alright. Consider it a falling on my part." She replied. "Speaking of which, I am about to have some snack. Would you like to join me?"

"S-Sure…"

* * *

Izuku couldn't help but stare in awe at the sight of so many dumplings on the table. He turned his eyes on the hermit, who had already consumed three baskets of them and was on her fourth. She finally put down her chopsticks and – for the first time since she began – drank her tea. It was by then that she noticed that he hadn't even touched his tableware.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked. "Is Chinese food not to your liking?"

"A-Ah, no! That's not it! I like it. It's just that…" He rubbed his head. "I…don't expect the 'snack' to be this much."

"I see." She put her cup down. "Well, I suppose my appetite is not the same as you. Or any human, for that matter."

"Um, correct me if I am wrong," Izuku asked. "But isn't hermit capable of surviving without food?"

"Not exactly. We simply need to ingest fog or haze, so you can say that it becomes our 'food.'" Kasen explained. "But let's be honest, its taste is nothing compared to normal food."

"I can imagine." Considering fog was made from evaporated water, it would be like drinking but without the throat-refreshing sensation.

"Go ahead, eat." The hermit said as she picked up her chopsticks. "If you don't want them though, I won't mind…"

"T-Thank you for the food." The boy quickly replied as he picked up his sticks.

For the duration of snack time, the two of them remained mostly silent with some small talk several times. Mostly about Izuku's life in the Outside World and Kasen's life as a hermit.

When they finished eating the food and was now drinking the tea, Kasen decided to talk about it.

"So, what is it that caused you distress?"

He was surprised by the question, to the point that he almost spit his drink out and dropped his cup. Fortunately, he was able to catch it but most of the content spill out.

"S-Sorry! I don't mean to...!" Izuku immediately apologized.

"No, no, the blame is on me. I shouldn't have surprised you." She replied. "Nonetheless, there's still the matter of your heart."

He shouldn't be surprised that Kasen would find out about it. Appearance and personality aside, she said she was a hermit and it was very likely not a lie. One thing that he had learned in Gensokyo was not to judge by appearance.

So, he told him his dilemma.

"I see." The pink-haired woman put her bandaged hand on her chin. "That is quite a conundrum."

Izuku remained silent, simply watching as Kasen picked up her teacup and drank the content.

"I am going to be honest," she continued. "I don't think I have a solution that will satisfy you. The rules of Gensokyo and the rules of the Outside World have reasons to be different, but nonetheless, make them problematic when they clashed."

The boy could feel his mood just went down upon hearing that. He supposed that it made sense. There was no way that the answer could be that easy.

"But if I have to give you a piece of advice," The hermit put down her cup. "The heroes that you so admired; why do they do what they do?"

"Eh?" He was confused by the question but answered it. "Because…it's the right thing to do?"

"And why is it the right thing to do?"

He was about to answer it when he realized that the question was not as simple as he thought. He knew it was the right thing not only because his heart said so, but also because everyone around him – from his mother, the teachers of his schools, to the heroes – told him that.

But what _exactly _made them right?

"Because…they put a smile on people's faces." Izuku elaborated. "Thanks to everything that the heroes do, people could continue their lives, not need to fear for their safety. Children going to school, adults going to their workplace, friends spending time with each other, couples deepening their relationship."

He looked at her with a confident look.

"Because of that, they smile. Because of the actions of the heroes. Because of that, what they're doing is the right thing to do."

Kasen listened to every word that he said. She didn't comment even a little about the statement, merely smiling.

"So that's how you see it, huh?" She nodded. "So, let me ask you; will you telling the truth put a smile on even one person?"

Upon hearing that, the boy became silent. He already knew the answer, but he was too afraid to admit.

"…No, it won't." He muttered. "But…!"

"I am old, Izuku." She suddenly said. "Old enough to witness how the birth of quirk tear apart society, how people – for good or ill – disobey the laws and punished for it, how those who are good and those who are bad are decided by the mere whim of the masses."

The hermit picked up the teapot and poured the drink into her cup.

"Nobody will blame you for deciding to look after yourself." She stated before staring hard at him. "Just like how nobody blamed All Might for the death of thirteen people during his debut."

She simply put down the pot and continued drinking her tea, not reacting to the boy that was staring at her in shock.

"You don't know?" Kasen said, not sounding surprised. "I am sure the information is publicly available."

"W-Well, yeah. I-It's…almost obvious that there would be those who are dead." He replied. "But the disaster occurred before All Might was there, so…"

"No." She stated. "The thirteen people that I referred to are those who died _after _he was there."

The hermit could see that Izuku was confused by her explanation. Thus, she decided to elaborate on it.

"You must have known about his debut, right?" Kasen said. "I am sure you know how bad it was; earthquake causing buildings to collapse, fire all over the place due to the gas leak, and to make it worse, heroes specialized in SAR were hours away."

"Y-Yeah," Izuku said. "People thought that there would be only a handful of survivors if they were lucky, with some even preparing for none at all. All Might's arrival turned what supposed to be a tragedy into a triumph."

"Indeed." She nodded. "Do you know how many people he saved?"

"Ninety-eight." He remembered it like the back of his hand.

"How did he saved them?"

"Um…he brought them to a safe location?" Wasn't that…kind of obvious?

"Correct. He brought them to another location. Which means there is a limit on how many people he could carry." She paused a bit before continuing. "The thirteen that I referred to are the thirteen people that – for reason known only to him – All Might decide to be on lower priority compared to the ninety-eight that he saved."

"He…" The boy was unable to believe what he heard.

"Mind you, I am sure he would love nothing more than to return and help them. But considering he didn't, that means it's already too late." Kasen rested her head on her hands. "He might be the strongest hero, but by no means invincible. Dead hero saves no one."

The hermit stopped talking and returned to her tea, giving Izuku time to process everything that had been revealed to him. Considering how he simply remained where he sat, giving no reaction at all, one would be forgiven to think that he was so shocked that his mind was unable to think properly.

A simple look into his eyes revealed that to not be the case.

He stood still – or rather, sat – because he was in deep thought. It was very likely that he was rethinking his view. Seeing this, Kasen simply smiled.

"There are many responsibilities that a hero must bear. But perhaps the heaviest one is to decide when to be selfless and when to be selfish." She stated. "We always praise those who sacrificed themselves for others. But if every hero follows it, then there would be no hero left. As I said before, a dead hero saves no one."

"…I understand."

She closed her eyes, nodding with satisfaction at his answer.

When Izuku returned to his apartment, he just realized something – too late – about Kasen. She claimed to be a hermit, likely a Taoist, meaning that she was at least hundreds of years old. She was a denizen of Gensokyo, which was created around the early part of the Meiji era.

So, how could she know about an event in the Outside World?

* * *

"She's a Sage of Gensokyo."

The next time he visited the Land of Fantasy, Izuku immediately went to Reimu and asked her about the pink-haired hermit. He didn't know whether it was normal for Kasen to possess that kind of information, so it was better safe than sorry.

"A Sage of Gensokyo?" He repeated as he tightened the sash of his Gensokyo outfit.

"The Sages of Gensokyo are people responsible for the creation of the realm itself." The Hakurei shrine maiden explained. "One of the 'privileges' that they possessed is the ability to 'administrate' the Hakurei Barrier. Meaning that they could easily go out and return just as easily."

"I see." The boy nodded. "Is Kasen the type that goes out?"

"Sometimes. I remember this party when she brought an ocean fish. As you expect, it's kind of impossible to be obtained in here." She said. "By the way, speaking about ocean fish…"

"Oi, Reimucchi! We're here!"

The two of them turned around and saw Sumireko approaching them, along with Marisa and – to his surprise – Sanae.

"Finally, they're here!" Reimu stated before looking at Izuku. "So, you're ready?"

"Eh?" He was confused. "For what?"

"Ah, that's right. You're not there." She remembered. "You see, for the party, the Moriya Shrine is willing to give their help with the preparation. Sumireko also suggested that she could bring ingredients that are not available in Gensokyo."

"Like the ocean fish."

"Exactly! Everyone's here are people who're involved in the preparation: the Hakurei the host with the help of the Moriya, Marisa knows the edible plants and mushrooms of Gensokyo like the back of her hands, and you and Sumireko have access to ingredients of the Outside World."

"I see." Izuku nodded, smiling.

"Now with them here, let's…"

"Izuku!"

He turned around, seeing the shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine approaching him. The boy turned back to look at Reimu – who nodded her head – before approaching her as well.

"Hello there. It's nice to see you again." She greeted him. "First of all, I must say, I am sorry for what happened during our last meeting."

"Eh?" Izuku didn't expect to hear that.

"I have been a bad host for you. As the guest of the Moriya Shrine, I should have shown you hospitality and yet…"

"N-No, never mind! Don't think about it!" He replied quickly. "I…I shouldn't have mentioned your…situation concerning the Outside World."

"Thank you. Nevertheless, I will still apologize." She said in return. "By the way, about my…"

"Don't worry, I won't tell the Outside World."

"R-Really?"

"Y-Yeah." He scratched his head. "I am…still not comfortable with the decision, but…I think I can make peace with it."

"I see. Once again, you have my thanks." The shrine maiden bowed. "Speaking of which, Lady Kanako asked me to deliver a message to you."

"Message?"

"She said that you do not need to fear regarding your condition, for you're in good hands."

Izuku's eyes became wide. His condition…was she talking about his frequent visits to Gensokyo? Did she know why it happened to him?

"Why did she say that?" He asked, wanting to be sure.

"Sorry, but I don't know as well." She looked apologetic. "Lady Kanako simply told me to deliver it when I asked the same."

He simply nodded his head, deciding not to ask further. If Kanako didn't want to reveal the reason for the message, then that was it. He doubted it was a good idea to try the patience of a god.

"Oi, you two!" Both of them turned around and saw Marisa calling them, standing alongside Reimu and Sumireko. "Come over here! We're about to start!"

They looked at each other before Izuku gestured at them.

"Well, shall we then?" He said.

"Of course," Sanae replied, nodding.

With that, the two of them joined their friends, starting the meeting to plan the party that was about to come.

* * *

**First off, I am going to say thank you for the suggestions of Touhou 3D fight, especially the minusT's videos. Hopefully, I could now create a more well-made fight, for the lack of better word. **

**Next off, to answers some reviews: **

**Derago: **Hmm, it's possible…

**FrostingFlames: **Well, that's an interesting theory about Izuku and Sanae.

**Draconixspirit13: **While, I am not sure Izuku would be as physically strong as he is in canon. He would focus more on his magic than his physical strength, after all. Also, he doesn't have One for All.

**JLee7329: **Funny thing, while I don't have an idea like that, I have one that is "similar in theme."

**Guest: **Nope, I am talking about the Three Sturm und Drang Brothers, villains from _My Hero Academia Illegal_, the spin-off manga.

* * *

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


End file.
